


Suddenly, I'm Respectable

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25392478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: "We're in this together.""Yeah. Together."
Relationships: Racetrack Higgins & David Jacobs, Racetrack Higgins/David Jacobs
Comments: 24
Kudos: 64





	Suddenly, I'm Respectable

**Author's Note:**

> Holy 175 fics, Batman!
> 
> This is Ravey but, like, the very tentative beginnings of Ravey. Hence tagging the fic as gen, it's more about their friendship than any Other Feelings. The first section fits in right after KONY, the second (SHOCKER) is right after Jack's betrayal at the rally.

“That was really impressive, Race,” Davey says. He’s standing, leaning on the edge of the table next to Race, who’s sprawled in a chair, exhausted. Davey is watching the other boys, who are still laughing and playing and teasing each other.

“Dunno what you’re talkin’ about,” says Race. He doesn’t look up at Davey, but he can see in his periphery that Davey’s gaze has shifted onto him.

“All this?” Davey says, gesturing vaguely across Jacobi’s. “The Manhattan newsboys, Kings of New York?

Race shrugs. “Weren’t nothin’, Daves, honest. We’s famous now, s’fun to pretend that could get us somewhere. Got everybody’s spirits up, din’nit?”

“Race,” Davey says again.

Race meets his eye. Davey’s got a funny look on his face, like he’s trying to puzzle Race out. “What?”

“You’re smarter than you pretend to be,” Davey says eventually. 

“I dunno what you’re talkin’ about,” Race repeats. He breaks eye contact, looking down at his own hands instead. 

“I wasn’t sure at first,” says Davey, “but that was a calculated move, wasn’t it? You _wanted_ to boost morale, to distract the boys. It was a little silly, but it worked.”

Race shrugs again. “We ain’t doin’ _shit_ if we’s just sittin’ around here feelin’ sorry for ourselves, y’know? N’anyway, ain’t like _I_ wrote the article. I just got everybody feelin’ somethin’ again.”

“And it was exactly what we needed,” Davey says. “Look, Race, I’ll leave you alone if you want, I just - thanks, okay? Everything’s still kinda shit and we’re all hurt and we don’t know where Jack is, so the boys really needed something like this, and God knows _I_ can’t pull this kind of thing off.”

“You can stay here,” Race says. He looks back up at Davey, and sees some of his own raw nerves reflected back at him in Davey’s expression. “You an’ me’s gotta stick together, don’t we, with Jack gone? I can handle the boys, Daves, but this is _your_ strike.”

“God,” says Davey, “don’t remind me.”

Race reaches over and lightly pokes Davey’s side, careful to avoid the bruising he knows Davey is hiding. “You’s a good leader, Davey.”

“So are you,” Davey replies easily. He catches Race’s hand for a moment as he pulls it away, squeezing it gently before letting Race pull it back. “We’re in this together.”

There’s the very beginnings of a familiar flutter in Race’s chest at the sincere smile Davey is giving him. Race tries his best to push it away - _for the love of God, Higgins. Now is not the time._

“Yeah,” Race agrees. “Together.”

Davey hums.

“Hey, Davey?” Race asks, suddenly curious. He just remembered something odd from earlier, and now he’s got Davey right here to ask about it.

“What?”

“How come you didn’t say what _you_ wanted?”

“What do you mean?” It’s Davey’s turn to avoid Race’s eye, apparently.

“When we was goin’ around sayin’ what we’d want if we was really famous,” Race says. “You didn’t say anything for yourself; you just talked up Kathy.”

“Kathy deserves to be talked up,” Davey replies, his tone slightly defensive. “She’s a talented writer and she gave us the time of day, she deserves the recognition.”

“I didn’t say she don’t,” says Race. “Only that _she_ could’a said it, y’know? But she didn’t – you did. You didn’t say what you want.”

“I want my friend to be seen for what she is.”

“Don’t mean you ain’t got somethin’ you want for yourself.”

Davey frowns vaguely toward the others, maybe toward his brother. “I don’t.” He sighs, finally looking back at Race again. “Nothing I can – nothing worth saying anyway.”

_Nothing I can say,_ Race finishes in his head. _Ain’t that a familiar feeling._

He pats Davey’s arm. “Okay. You’re a good guy, you know that?”

“You think so?”

“A’course I do,” says Race. He nods towards the others. “You been with us, what, three days? And you’s already thrown yourself in heart and soul to makin’ sure we’s all gettin’ what we deserve. And not a lotta guys would defend Kath so easy, either.”

Davey shrugs. “It’s what’s right. And anyway, I can’t exactly afford the price hike either.”

“You’s somethin’ else, Davey.”

“So are you, Race.”

\--

It was all going so right, so it’s just Race’s fucking luck that it all falls to pieces.

Jack runs, after he takes the money, because of course he fucking runs. Race doesn’t care.

He goes looking for Davey, who ducked into the wings with betrayal in his eyes.

He finds him outside, tearing his poor sheet of notes to shreds.

“Davey, what’cha doin’ out here?” Race asks. “We need you in there, it’s fuckin’ chaos.”

“Need me?” Davey repeats bitterly. “ _Why_?”

“Because Jack Kelly might be a – a dirty traitor,” and it stings just to say it, but Race spits the words out because Davey needs to hear them, “but you’s still got most’a the union behind you.”

“Behind _me_?” says Davey. “Race, listen to yourself. I can’t lead. I can’t even get up in front of everyone and speak.”

“You did before,” Race says.

“Yeah, to stall!”

“You were good, Davey,” Race insists. He puts his hands on the older boy’s shoulders, and the contact startles Davey into meeting Race’s eye. “You’s a good leader, remember? You ain’t been here long but you’s _smart_ and the boys trust you. _I_ trust you, David.”

Davey sighs, ducking his head again. “I can’t salvage this.”

“You can.” Race leans forward just enough to touch is forehead to Davey’s. “It was always your words. You just gotta get up there and say’em, okay? And I’m with you.”

“You’re with me?”

“We’s in this together, ain’t we?”

“Yeah,” Davey agrees. For the second time in as many days Jack is gone and the two of them are left to pick up the pieces. “Together.”

The flutter is back in Race’s chest, and if things were different – if Race and Davey weren’t both worn almost through, holding themselves and each other together by threads – this moment might’ve ended very differently.

But what _does_ happen is that they’re silent for a long time, both pulling themselves together and catching their breath. One of Davey’s hands comes up to hold loosely onto Race’s wrist, where it’s still resting on Davey’s shoulder.

Then they separate, and they go back into the theatre to try to tame the crowd.

They’re in this together, Jack Kelly be damned.


End file.
